From First to Last - Top Trout Fishing REGIONS in Pennsylvania Ranked

Traveling Trout Co

Traveling Trout Co

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Joined
Feb 15, 2024
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15
Location
South Central Pa
Based on the below PA Counties map, rank from first to last the top trout fishing regions (in your opinion). We have North Western, North Central, North Eastern, Central, South Western, South Central, and South Eastern. For the purposes of this ranking, please consider not only the number of quality trout streams in each region, but also wild/native trout reproduction and aesthetic scenery.

Also, before this thread devolves into diatribes on the map and specific regions choices themselves - YES, I created the red lines by hand on my laptop at work while pretending to be busy today and they are not topographically perfect, but please just go with the original question/premise. If you're up for it, provide a brief explanation for why you ranked each one. Looking forward to hearing others' opinions.
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#1 Central – 4 of the top 5 wild brown trout streams in Pennsylvania (limestone spring influenced juggernauts we all know and love)

#2 North Central – Best freestone trout fishing in PA, extensive native brookie habitat, and unmatched scenery of glaciated plateaus

#3 North Eastern – Excellent mixture of quality Pocono’s freestone streams and limestone spring creeks in the Lehigh Valley

#4 South Central – Historically significant true limestone spring creeks and limestone spring influenced streams as well as several quality freestoner's

#5 North Western – Steelhead Alley is truly unique in Pennsylvania (when they are running) and ANF streams are passable – but not much else

#6 South Eastern – Philly sprawl dampens the ranking, however there are a few limestone spring and wild trout stream surprises if you know where to look

#7 South Western – Despite a few standout fisheries in the Laurel Highlands, limited natural reproduction of trout throughout
 
TOP 2 ARE A TOSS UP FOR ME, I WOULD ACTUALLY LEAN TOWARD NC AS ITS MORE REMOTE AND LESS CROWDED

#1 Central – 4 of the top 5 wild brown trout streams in Pennsylvania (limestone spring influenced juggernauts we all know and love) THE LAND OF THE JAM!

#2 North Central – Best freestone trout fishing in PA, extensive native brookie habitat, and unmatched scenery of glaciated plateaus CAMP

UNFORTUNAELY HAVENT FISHED NE AREA MUCH

#3 North Eastern – Excellent mixture of quality Pocono’s freestone streams and limestone spring creeks in the Lehigh Valley

SC HAS SOME AMAZING STREAMS BUT AGAIN CROWDS

#4 South Central – Historically significant true limestone spring creeks and limestone spring influenced streams as well as several quality freestoner's

I THINK THE NW IS WAY MORE THAN ERIE. CLARION, JEFFERSON AND FOREST COUNTIES HAVE A LOT OF GOOD FISHING AND AGAIN LESS CROWDED

#5 North Western – Steelhead Alley is truly unique in Pennsylvania (when they are running) and ANF streams are passable – but not much else

SE, WHERE I GREW UP BUT PROBABLY FISHED IT MORE AFTER COLLEGE, IF YOU LIKE URBAN FISHING...

#6 South Eastern – Philly sprawl dampens the ranking, however there are a few limestone spring and wild trout stream surprises if you know where to look

SW, REALLY GOT TO DIG AND BECAUSE OF THAT ITS EITHER FULL OF TOURISTS OR OTHER FISHERMEN.

#7 South Western – Despite a few standout fisheries in the Laurel Highlands, limited natural reproduction of trout throughout
 
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tomgamber said:
I THINK THE NW IS WAY MORE THAN ERIE. CLARION, JEFFERSON AND FOREST COUNTIES HAVE A LOT OF GOOD FISHING AND AGAIN LESS CROWDED
Click to expand...

Exactly. The area east of I-79 is completely different than the counties that border Ohio. For those who are not confident fishing fishing streams that aren't class A, I don't know what to tell you. Have fun driving a few hours to fish Spring Creek with everyone else I suppose. Lol.
 
NC
C
NE
SC
NW
SE
SW

I give the nod by a slight amount to the NE vs SC due to the scenery and fisheries of the Delaware R. and because of the way the map was laid out for SC.
 
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BruceC2C said:
...btw...TravelingTroutCo...
Which State or Federal Agency do u work for...?😁
.......YES, I created the red lines by hand on my laptop at work while pretending to be busy today ...
Click to expand...
Like someone most have heard of who changed a particular hurricane cone with a Sharpie? :)
 
As a resident of SW, I'm starting to get depressed...
 
While I agree SEPA has more wild Trout fishing opportunities than SWPA (and both would be the last two on my list too), I’d personally rather fish SWPA. There’s enough in the Laurel Highlands to keep me interested and gives you enough of a remote feel to make it seem like you’re fishing somewhere with better fish density, even if you’re not. Even the “good” streams in SE PA don’t give you a very remote feel.

NC
C
NW (Underrated IMO)
NE (Has some really really good streams, among the best in the state, but also has a lot of access issues.)
SC (I’m not the biggest fan of the CV limestoners experience, so this may be lower for me than most.)
SW
SE
 
C (Tons of limestone streams including plenty that fly under the radar. TONS of overlooked wild trout streams in the NE corner of the boundary if you're up for a blue-line special).
NC (Clinton/Lycoming/Cameron/Potter/Tioga Counties= Trout Mecca...Wild and Stocked)
SC (Still lots of undiscovered gems here including limestone streams and blue-lines)
NE (At least 12+ places I really like here and LL and Bushkill are not two of them. Grew up fishing both and both have drastically changed)
SW (Some interesting options here besides the Yough)
SE (Fished this region a lot back in the 80s and 90s. Honestly haven't been back since. Too much sprawl and nothing good enough to pull me from State College)
NW (Definitely an area that I need to explore more time permitting. I know of several places, but there are undoubtedly more that would justify more exploration)

Edited because I apparently offended Arminacast with the reference to Fayette County. It has nothing to do with demographics, but everything to do with the low density brook trout streams that I've encountered there 🙃
 
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Wild_Trouter said:
C (Tons of limestone streams including plenty that fly under the radar. TONS of overlooked wild trout streams in the NE corner of the boundary if you're up for a blue-line special).
NC (Clinton/Lycoming/Cameron/Potter/Tioga Counties= Trout Mecca...Wild and Stocked)
SC (Still lots of undiscovered gems here including limestone streams and blue-lines)
NE (At least 12+ places I really like here and LL and Bushkill are not two of them. Grew up fishing both and both have drastically changed)
SW (Some interesting options here besides the Yough)
SE (Fished this region a lot back in the 80s and 90s. Honestly haven't been back since. Too much sprawl and nothing good enough to pull me from State College)
NW (Definitely an area that I need to explore more time permitting. I know of several places, but there are undoubtedly more that would justify more exploration)

Edited because I apparently offended Arminacast with the reference to Fayette County. It has nothing to do with demographics, but everything to do with the low density brook trout streams that I've encountered there 🙃
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I probably overreacted here. A sad face or "disapointed" response would have been better. One thing for sure, I need to fish more places in Pa.
 
Rankings are limited to places I actually fished with a fly rod. I grew up in Erie and did a lot of fishing. I'm sure the fly fishing is great there, but I have no related experience in NW (or NE or SE).
#1 is NC: First trout caught on a fly (when I kind of knew what I was doing) on Pine Creek. Many stays at camp in Cammal with family and friends, with good times on Pine, Little Pine, and Slate Run. Beautiful scenery in a fairly wild setting.
#2 is SC: A large part of our family lives there so I've had some good times fishing on the YB, Manada, and (recently) the Quitty. (Had to edit since I forgot Clarks Creek. I forgot because the only time I was there, the water was super-thin, and nobody caught anything. My son who lives there has had some success there and some obscure places in the area.)
# 3 is SW: My late parents lived in Blairsville and my in-laws live in Derry, so we visited with the kids very often. My boys got started in the DHALO section of the Loyalhanna next to Ligonier with their grand-pap (who built all of them their first flyrod and tied all their flies).
#4 is C: My sister has a cottage at Mahaffey Camp along the WB Susquehanna. Only flyfished there once for a few hours, and only one of us got a little bass (in the big river). Someday, we'll try Chest Creek and other places, if we ever go back in the spring/summer/fall.
 
BruceC2C said:
...btw...TravelingTroutCo...
Which State or Federal Agency do u work for...?😁
.......YES, I created the red lines by hand on my laptop at work while pretending to be busy today ...
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure he works in IT for the state, Agency unknown.
 
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